Learning is Everywhere

This week I had the opportunity to conduct a walkthrough with Ms. Kazmierczak and witness your work.  The focus for our walkthrough was from your ownership look for, specifically," student work shows that students have taken responsibilty for their learning".

I know that Ms. K is going to share a wide range of examples of student work that met this look for, what I want to share with you is what I learned about you as a learning commuity from my visit.  

1- Wilson teachers value student voices.  
This was evident in the numberous displays that not only provided comments, but essentially rich feedback on what students did well and questions to help them keep thinking about what they learned. Your feedback communicates volumes about how much you value student work and the learning process.

2-Process matters as much as a product.
Numerous displays of student work outlined not only what students learned, but the processes it took to help students think deeply about the content. This communicates to me the high value you place on thinking. You are setting your students up to be learners, teaching them how to learn so they can be successful no matter what task they approach.

3-Models matter.
In many classrooms we saw models of what strong student work looks like.  Students can hit any target if they know what it is and these displays will certainly help students reach your targets. The inclusion of these models communicates that you value quality in student responses.

I know this is a difficult time of year with spring weather and end of the year rituals, but it was evident that at Wilson it is business as usual and that means focusing on instruction and valuing student work. From my observations it is clear that you will have a strong finish to this school year. Have a great summer. 

Light a Fire

Kids Do Well if they Can  Please click link to view

Kids Do Well if they Can! WE can do well too!

I would like you to view this video.  It will only take about 4 minutes.  It is powerful professional development and the foundation of our work.  If we are to guide our students on a path of maturity and productivity we have to be the change we want to see in them.  

Kids do well if they can is a difficult concept to operationalize.  

What challenges to you face to bring this concept into your paradigm?  Why is understanding the rationale critical when working with our students?

re-cov-er-y   the regaining or possibility of regaining something lost or taken away 

(dictionary.com)

This Monday I had the opportunity to witness Wilson conducting learning recovery for your students. Allowing students time to go back and regain lost learning speaks volumes about what you value in your school.  I thought you might be interested in this short video clip that talks about the importance of allowing kids to re-do, or re-take assignments.  View this and see what you think.  

You may notice that this is Part 2 of the video series. Part 1 can be found on the district grading blog found here. 

While I enjoyed my morning at Wilson, I asked  Mrs. K if I could come back and see all of you on a normal day, so I will be back in April.  I look forward to witnessing all of your efforts on implementing formative assessments in your classrooms. Have a great March.